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Schools on notice

Five charter school authorizers in southeast Michigan were put on notice of possible suspension by State Superintendent Mike Flanagan. Those authorizers and the schools they oversee:

Detroit City Public Schools

GEE Edmonson Academy

GEE White Academy

Hamilton Academy

New Paradigm Glazer Academy

New Paradigm Loving Academy

International Preparatory Academy-MacDowell Campus

Rutherford Winans Academy

Capstone Academy Charter School (SDA)

Martin Luther King, Jr. Education Center Academy

Timbuktu Academy of Science and Technology

David Ellis Academy

Ross-Hill Academy

Macomb Intermediate School District

Arts Academy in the Woods

Educational Achievement Authority

Michigan Educational Choice Center

Eastern Michigan University

Grand Blanc Academy

Great Lakes Academy

Dr. Joseph F. Pollack Academic Center of Excellence

Ann Arbor Learning Community

Detroit Public Safety Academy

The James and Grace Lee Boggs School

Gaudior Academy

Commonwealth Community Development Academy

Academy for Business and Technology

Hope Academy

Highland Park Public Schools

Highland Park Public School Academy

George Washington Carver Academy

Northpointe Academy

State Superintendent Mike Flanagan placed 11 of the state’s charter school authorizers on notice for possible suspension Monday.

Five of those 11 authorizers are located in Southeast Michigan: Detroit City Public Schools, the Educational Achievement Authority, Eastern Michigan University, Highland Park Public Schools and the Macomb Intermediate School District. Those five operate 27 schools.

The authorizers have until Oct. 22 to fix their deficiencies or risk suspension, which would keep them from opening any new schools. They would not have to close schools currently operating.

All of the schools of these authorizers, when their rankings are combined, rank in the bottom 10 percent of schools statewide. Other deficiencies noted by the state include: budget deficits, failure to meet transparency and contract requirements.

Bill DiSessa, spokesperson for the state Department of Education, declined to get into the specifics of the contract issues and other deficiencies that schools had.

Mike DeVault, superintendent of the Macomb Intermediate School District, said he and his administration were blindsided by the news that it is on the list.

“We support the fact that they are reviewing charter schools, but we are still a little puzzled,” DeVault said.

The district has one charter school – the Arts Academy in the Woods high school in Fraser – with an enrollment of about 350. DeVault said Michigan Merit Exam test scores among the school’s 45 juniors in March were at or above state averages.

He said he contacted the education department about Macomb's inclusion in the list but hasn’t heard back.

In his announcement Monday, Flanagan said he has the authority under state law to push for greater quality and transparency, and that is what he is doing.

“We want all public schools to provide a quality education for Michigan’s kids,” Flanagan said in a statement.

“I am using the authority provided me in state law to push for greater quality, transparency, and accountability for those who aren’t measuring up as charter authorizers.”

Other authorizers at risk are: Ferris State, Grand Valley State, Lake Superior State, Northern Michigan, Kellogg Community College and Muskegon Heights school district. The state-run Education Achievement Authority is also in jeopardy.